FIG. 1 depicts a conventional system 10 for printing conventional complex data streams. The system 10 is also generally used for extremely high speed printing, such as in printing a run of books. A conventional complex data stream is one which is associated with a complex page description language (PDL) and which is used in printing data in the complex PDL. As used herein, a complex PDL includes languages such as PostScript, PDF, and PCL by Hewlett Packard, which allow data to be viewed and manipulated on a page basis. The conventional system 10 includes a conventional generator 20, a conventional raster image processor (RIP) 30, and a conventional printer 40. The conventional generator 20 receives data in the complex PDL. The conventional generator 20 generates the conventional complex data stream to be printed based upon the data provided in the complex PDL. The complex data stream output by the conventional generator 20 is also in the complex PDL. The complex data stream is to be printed and is provided by the conventional generator 20 to the conventional RIP 30. In addition, some conventional generators 20 may add other information to the complex data stream. For example, a conventional generator 20 by International Business Machines (IBM) allows for grey scale using TIFF images. In such a conventional generator 20, a private tag and a device independent grey scale image are added to the complex data stream. The private tag corresponds to the device independent image, such as a photograph, that should be printed as part of the data stream. A device specific image is also placed in the complex data stream. A conventional RIP 30 that is proprietary to IBM can recognize the private tag and is capable of locating the device independent image and printing the image in grey scale using the information associated with the private tag. A conventional RIP 30 that is not proprietary to IBM can still be used in printing the complex data stream, but generally does not recognize the private tag and thus does not allow for printing the TIFF image in grey scale.
The conventional RIP 30 converts the complex data stream to a printable format. As used herein, a printable format is a format that can be printed more efficiently or that is tuned to a particular printer, such as the conventional 40. For example, one printable format used by IBM is a mixed object data content architecture (MODCA), which provides images in image object data content architecture (IOCA). However, other printable formats may be used. Thus, for example, the RIP 30 may convert a PDF and/or PostScript file (the complex data stream) to the MODCA and IOCA data. The printable format can then be provided from the conventional RIP 30 to the conventional printer 40. Thus, the conventional RIP 30 can be viewed as a file conversion program that converts data between the complex PDL in which the complex data stream is expressed and the printable format.
Although the conventional system 10 functions well for its intended purpose, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the conventional system 10 may be inefficient in converting certain types of data in the complex data stream to the printable format. In particular, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily realize that the conventional system 10 prints simple data slowly. Simple data includes data, particularly scanned images, that are generally not greatly modifiable using the complex PDL and which are generally printed without further image processing. As used herein, simple data includes data that cannot be substantially altered using the tools of the complex PDLs, such as scanned images that are stored in the PDL. Thus, many of the tools available through the complex PDL are not used with the simple data. For example, as mentioned above, a user of the conventional system 10 may desire to print short runs of books at a high speed. The original copy of the book is scanned in. Thus, the complex data stream provided and printed using the conventional system includes a series of scanned images. The content of individual pages is not modifiable using the complex PDL, is generally printed without further processing, and is, therefore, simple data. However, the simple data may be stored in the complex PDL because the formats are ubiquitous and powerful. In order to print the simple data in the complex data stream, the conventional RIP 30 processes the data and converts between the complex PDL and the printable format. When printing the complex data stream including this simple data, therefore, the simple data may be printed over ten times more slowly than, for example, a TIFF image of the simple data.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for more rapidly and efficiently printing simple data from a complex data stream. The present invention addresses such a need.